TIME TO MOVE [Current GFW Message]

² (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.) ³ And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them; ⁴ After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: ⁵ On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, ⁶ The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount.            Deuteronmy 1:2-6.

“Even good things can be improved” that was what the publishers of the New Living Translation of the Bible said. The down-to-earth, novelistic style of the Living Bible gave it a sort of bestseller status; today it has over 40 million copies in print. Yet the publishers felt it could still be made better, the result they got was another bestseller – the New Living Translation.

Just after the Israelites had defeated two great kings, Sihon and Og, Moses called them together for a speech. They must have thought it was going to be a victory speech; guess what they got: “You have stayed on this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move” (NLT).

Mountain Experience

We all get our share of mountain experiences once in a while – moments of extraordinary success and unusual favor – that we are tempted to start feeling comfortable with our present position. Some people get a raise, earn a degree, or land a job with a cushy number and all of a sudden they start acting like they have “arrived”.

God told the Israelites that they had long enough on their mountain. They had become willfully ignorant that they had spent forty years on 11-day journey.

Peter also had a similar ‘mountain experience’ at the mount of transfiguration in Matthew 17. The Bible calls it a  “high mountain”. While there, he had a revelation of Christ hitherto unknown. I guess you wouldn’t blame him for trying to set up camp, (vs. 4). Many a preacher base their whole ministry on a singular experience – a vision they saw or some miracles performed twelve years ago. What’s the basis of your Christian faith? Is it based on your first zealous experiences when you got Born Again, or on what grace you are receiving now? Success is not meant to make us complacent, it’s meant to encourage of on the possibility of future successes.

 You Gotta Move To Improve

The location from which Moses gave that speech is quite indicative. The Bible says it was “on this side Jordan”. They had been there for forty years without making that all-important movement across the River Jordan.

 Friend, while you may have a lot to be grateful for in your present situation, you have to realize that that’s not all there is to life. Your congregation may have doubled in the past two years, you may have succeeded in getting a PhD or you may have finally bought a house after ten years. Great! These are indications that you are progressing, not that you have arrived. Someone jocularly said, “you know you’ve arrived when you’re asked to appear on TV chat shows”, well maybe not. Realize that you can always do better, go farther, and aim higher. Always measure your successes in the light of your life’s overall plan, your overall destination; that way you wouldn’t be like the Israelites who were killing great kings but not making that vital move – across the Jordan and into the promised land. God bless you.